LONDON.- Four photographers have been shortlisted for the £12,000 Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize, the major international photography award. Firmly established as the leading showcase for new talent in portrait photography, the prize is sponsored by international law firm Taylor Wessing.

The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010 will showcase the work of some of the most talented emerging young photographers, alongside that of established professionals, photography students and gifted amateurs. Selected anonymously from an open competition, the diversity of styles reflects the international mix of entrants as well as the range of approaches to the portrait genre, encompassing editorial, advertising and fine art images. The judges have selected 60 portraits for the exhibition from nearly 6,000 submissions entered by 2,401 photographers. The exhibition will run from 11 November 2010 through to 20 February 2011 at the National Portrait Gallery, London.

As well as the first-prize winner and three runners-up, the exhibition will feature the ELLE Commission. For the second year running, ELLE magazine will commission a photographer selected for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize exhibition to shoot a feature story. The ELLE Commission was judged by the fashion magazines editor-in-chief, Lorraine Candy, together with the art director, Tom Meredith, and picture editor, Hannah Ridley.

With its substantial prize fund and high-profile exhibition and tour, the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize continues the Gallerys long tradition of championing the very best contemporary portrait photography. The following four photographers have been shortlisted for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010:

David Chancellor for Huntress with Buck, from the series HuntersBorn in the UK in 1961, David Chancellor is based in both London and Cape Town. His shortlisted portrait is of 14 year old Josie Slaughter from Alabama, on her first hunting trip to South Africa. The portrait is from his project documenting hunters, the hunted and spaces associated with hunting. He says: As a child I was fascinated by the tales of Colonel Jim Corbett hunting man-eating tigers in India. As an art student it was Peter Beard's seminal work The End of the Game that fascinated and inspired. This work will seek to explore the intricate and complex relationship between man and animals and how both struggle to adapt to their changing environments. Chancellor shoots documentary reportage and portraiture for a range of clients and regularly works on projects for Non-Governmental Organisations. He studied advertising and editorial photography at Kent Institute of Art and Design, his work has been exhibited across Europe and South Africa and his first monograph, Hunters, will be published in 2011.

Panayiotis Lamprou for Portrait of my British wifeBorn in Athens in 1975, Panayiotis Lamprou, was introduced to photography at the Photography Circle' in Athens in 1998 where he studied under Platon Rivellis. He went on to study further at the Centro de Ricerca e Archiviazione della Fotografia in Spilimbergo, Italy. His intimate shortlisted portrait of his British wife was never intended for public display. The portrait was taken after the couple had eaten an omelette at their summerhouse on the small island of Schinousa in the Aegean Sea on a hot summer's day. Lamprou says: I've never shown it to anyone. Only she knew about it. When she saw it she said that even if it wasn't nude the photograph has the same power to express. I can describe the portrait as independence, love, devotion and freedom.' His work has been included in numerous publications and he has exhibited in 16 exhibitions throughout Europe. This will be the first time that his work has been on show in the UK.

Jeffrey Stockbridge for Tic Tac and Tootsie (twin sisters Carroll and Shelly McKean) from the series Nowhere but HereJeffrey Stockbridge, born 1982 in Woodbine, Maryland, moved to Philadelphia to study photography at Drexel University in 2002. Stockbridges shortlisted photograph is of Tic Tac and Tootsie, 20-year-old twin sisters Carroll and Shelly McKean taken in Kensington, North Philadelphia. The twin sisters, who live on the street and suffer from insomnia, are both addicted to Xanex and have resorted to prostitution to supply their habit. Stockbridge says: Enduring unthinkable pain on a daily basis, the sisters are both incredibly strong and weak at the same time. Caught in the grip of their addiction, they do whatever it takes to survive, except for getting clean. Upon graduating in 2005, Stockbridge was placed as runner-up in the New York Times Magazines Capture the Times photography competition for his series on abandoned houses in Philadelphia, titled Occupied. He has exhibited widely in the US since graduation and received many grants and awards for his projects documenting urban blight in Philadelphia.

Abbie Trayler-Smith for Untitled 2 from the series Childhood ObesityBorn in South Wales in 1977, Abbie Trayler-Smith studied law at Kings College, London while taking photographs for the student newspaper. Self-trained, she went on to work as a photographer for The Daily Telegraph. Her shortlisted portrait was taken on the second meeting with a girl called Chelsea, from Shine, a group in Sheffield who help teenagers deal with obesity. Traylor-Smith says: Whilst talking about how it feels to live with the prejudices that come with being overweight, I looked away to change the film in my camera. When I looked back the picture was suddenly there. I shot one frame. Trayler-Smith has worked for Time Magazine, GEO, Marie Claire, Tatler, Guardian Weekend, Oxfam, UNICEF and BBC Worldwide among others. Her project on asylum seekers in the UK, Still Human, Still Here was exhibited at HOST Gallery, London, in 2009 with an accompanying film which won both the Nikon Award 2009 and the PPY Best Multimedia Piece 2009. She joined Panos Pictures in 2007 and became a member of Panos Profile in 2010.

The prizes for the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2010 will be announced at the awards ceremony on Tuesday 9 November 2010 at 7pm. The winner of the ELLE Commission 2010 will also be announced at the ceremony and this award will be presented by Lorraine Candy, editor-in-chief of the magazine. The Press View for the exhibition will be Wednesday 10 November 11am-1pm. The exhibition opens to the public on Thursday 11 November and will be on display at the National Portrait Gallery, London until 20 February 2011, before touring to The Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens from 16 April - 26 June 2011, and one further tour venue.

Sandy Nairne, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, says: The Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize has once again attracted some outstanding photographers from around the world. This is an exciting shortlist.

Tim Eyles, Managing Partner of international law firm Taylor Wessing says: As in previous years, the entries clearly demonstrate the depth of talent and artistic vision of today's photographers at both the professional and amateur level.

TOUR
The exhibition will run at the National Portrait Gallery, London, from 11 November 10 until 20 February 2011, admission £2, before touring to The Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens from 16 April until 26 June 2011, and one further tour venue.